Archive for the 'Royalties' Category

Alaska Can Meet U.S. Energy Needs
By Sean Parnell / Wall Street Journal

The United States is now facing a decision on how to meet its future energy needs. In the coming months, the U.S. Department of the Interior will weigh whether to allow oil and gas exploration on Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to be expanded. Such exploration could set the country on a clear and sustainable energy path for decades to come.

Alaska’s OCS contains an estimated 27 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That’s more than twice the amount of oil that has been produced on Alaska’s North Slope since the Trans Alaska Pipeline System went online in 1977. Counting its OCS reserves, Alaska likely has more than 30% of the nation’s recoverable oil and gas. Developing these resources will advance our national interests in three significant ways.

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$21 Billion of Oil and Gas Deals Announced Third Quarter 2009
PR Newswire

HOUSTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ — PLS, Inc. (”PLS”) in conjunction with its international partner Derrick Petroleum Services (”Derrick”) reports that Global M&A activity for the 3rd Quarter 2009 totaled nearly $21 billion in 112 separate transactions. According to Brian Lidsky, Managing Director of Research at PLS, Inc., “Oil and gas deal volume increased markedly beginning in late August 2009 due to a confluence of events. These include: 1) a growing consensus that the economy bottomed in the 2nd quarter 2009 and a recovery is under way, 2) price stability of oil in the $65 - $75 per barrel range, and 3) a dramatic drop of U.S. natural gas prices in late August - early September towards the $2.50 range that signaled a buying opportunity to the U.S. markets. For perspective, the oil and gas forward 12-month strips at 3rd Quarter 2009 end were $73.00 per barrel and $5.93 per mcf (thousand cubic feet) versus year ago numbers of $99.02 per barrel and $8.15 per mcf.”

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Sweeping Rahall Bill Would Overhaul Federal Oil and Gas Leasing, Royalties
By Noelle Straub / The New York Times

House Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) introduced a bill yesterday to forge a new Interior agency to govern oil and gas leasing on federal lands and to overhaul the federal royalty system.

The far-reaching bill also includes measures to improve planning for offshore energy development, address wind and solar programs, and boost funding for ocean conservation and land acquisition. It comes largely as a response to a series of scandals and scathing government watchdog reports on the federal agencies that handle oil and gas drilling on public lands.

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Energy stocks open mixed as crude extends gains
By Jim Jelter / Market Watch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Oil and gas stocks edged narrowly higher at the open Wednesday as crude-oil futures extended their winning streak to a third straight session. Early trades sent the NYSE Arca Oil Index

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Winter may heat up natural gas prices
By Markus Ermisch / Sun Media
August, 27, 2009
Finance Minister Iris Evans says she’s not relying on winter to give depressed natural gas prices a boost, but chances are that at this point, Jack Frost is the government’s best friend.

Alberta’s government, in yesterday’s budget update, lowered its forecast for the price of natural gas to $3.75 per gigajoule, a cut of $1.75 from the forecast included in April’s provincial budget. Natural gas royalties for the fiscal year are now estimated at $1.9 billion, $1.8 billion lower than the budget estimate.

The government also adjusted the average oil price to $61 US a barrel, up from the $55.50 US contained in the budget. The higher oil price is offset by an appreciating loonie, and oil royalties are now forecast to drop $333 million to $1.9 billion.

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Boston.com
July 17, 2009

HOUSTON—The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States rose by 4 this week to 920.

Of the rigs running nationwide, 665 were exploring for natural gas and 244 for oil, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday. Eleven were listed as miscellaneous.

A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,928. The U.S. count is down about 55 percent since the end of August as weak energy demand has hampered oilfield activity.

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Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 24, 2009

RICHMOND — The federal government’s decision to lift its longtime ban on offshore drilling has thrust the hot-button issue of coastal drilling to the forefront of the Virginia governor’s race.

The three Democrats vying for their party’s nomination next month are taking strikingly different positions on whether Virginia should join Alaska, Texas and Louisiana in setting up offshore platforms to drill for oil and natural gas.

Brian Moran, a former delegate from Alexandria, opposes all drilling, a position that is in keeping with his strategy to stake out progressive stances on a variety of issues in the hopes of appealing to the party’s more liberal base.

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By Billy Loftin
Wednesday, May 20, 2009AMARILLO, TEXAS — The Panhandle Producers Royalty Owners Association (PPROA) hosted its 80th annual convention in Amarillo this week to discuss the oil and gas industry, and what challenges and other issues members face.

Hundreds of producers, royalty owners and others interested in the oil and gas industry met Wednesday to listen to Buddy Kleemeier, chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

Kleemeier deals with Congress and different committees in Washington D.C. He spoke to representatives from Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas about the Obama Administration and what changes may be implemented that effect oil and gas nationwide.

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CALGARY, ALBERTA - (Marketwire - March 4, 2009) - While the Energy Incentive Program announced yesterday by Alberta Energy Minister Mel Knight is a good step for Alberta’s oil and gas industry, access to capital remains a major stumbling block to Alberta’s economic recovery says AJM Petroleum Consultants, an evaluation firm that specializes in the economic evaluation of oil and gas reserves.”The Alberta government deserves credit for their efforts to stimulate an industry that is in a critical state,” said Ralph Glass, VP Operations of AJM Petroleum Consultants. “However, it’s important to bear in mind that the current slump in the oil and gas industry wasn’t caused by the introduction of the new Alberta Royalty Framework - it is a result of the capital equity freeze and the crash in the commodity prices. The government’s new drilling incentive program improves the situation for companies who have ‘money in the bank,’ but it won’t have much impact on companies who need to access capital to fund their drilling programs.”

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will decide later this year whether to raise the royalty rates energy companies would pay on the oil and natural gas produced on federal leases, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Tuesday.Companies now pay a royalty rate ranging from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent of the value of the oil and gas they drill. However, Salazar said other countries charge higher royalties and the Obama administration wants to make sure U.S. taxpayers are treated fairly.

“We are looking at royalty rates and compensation paid for both onshore and offshore oil and gas development,” Salazar told Reuters in a wide-ranging interview. “We will make sure the American citizen is getting its fair return.”

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